I forgot to write about this earlier but Barry and I became official residents of the United Arab Emirates! Barry on July 27th and me on the 6th of November. We each then got our U.A.E. drivers license within a few days of becoming residents. First the person who is company sponsored attains their residency and then their spouses process begins. Unfortunately for us a little oops and we were informed our copy of our marriage certificate had been lost. So we had to get a good friend (thank you again) to take care of that for us state side. It had to go to HQ in California, then to DC to be attested, back to HQ, and then over here! Hence the reason we had three months between gaining residency.
Barry went to get his drivers license a few days after receiving his residency stamp in his passport with no surprises. Then it was my turn, and a friend and I went together. Our husbands are coworkers and she received residency a day or so ahead of me. We headed down to the Abu Dhabi version of the DMV and found a room full of about three hundred men and probably twenty women! Very similar to the US; turn in all your paperwork and get a ticket with a number, and wait for an eye test. Turn in those results and get a new ticket with another number and wait a long time. Answer a few questions, not about driving, and pay all the fees. Wait a little longer and leave with your new drivers license with a really bad picture on it. Yep, just like home!
So now we are both officially United States citizens living abroad as residents in another country. Or for short, we are now expats!
